Seattle Weekly Ad Director Steps Down

Mogen leaves after 11 years

Jill Mogen has resigned as ad director of Seattle Weekly, David Schneiderman, CEO of Village Voice Media, announced to staff Wednesday.

“After a long conversation, Jill Mogen and I came to the conclusion that she will step down as ad director of the Weekly,” Schneiderman wrote in an e-mail to the staff. “Jill has made many significant contributions over the years to the Weekly’s success. I greatly appreciate her dedication, her efforts and her passion for the paper. Please join me in wishing Jill every success in the future.”

Mogen had been with Seattle Weekly for more than 11 years and played a leading role in the establishment of the Alternative Weekly Network, an advertising sales consortium for alternative newsweeklies.

“Jill served as AWN’s first President in 1996 and 1997 during an unprecedented growth period for the network and the alternative industry,” AWN Executive Director Mark Hanzlik says.”She helped incorporate AWN and wrote many of AWN’s bylaws in 1995. Jill was a stalwart supporter of the cooperative selling efforts from the start and continued to be active through her efforts at the Seattle Weekly.”

Mogen’s departure follows a similar management shakeup last week in Los Angeles, where Schneiderman asked Publisher Michael Sigman to step down.

In November, Alisa Cromer resigned as publisher of Seattle Weekly after finding that she and Schneiderman had “irreconcilable differences” about management.

Cromer has joined Metro Newspapers on a contract basis as interim group publisher, Metro CEO Dan Pulcrano told AAN News this week. She is assisting with the restructuring of the company’s four alternative newspapers following the split between Metro and Silicon Valley Community Newspapers Inc., now solely owned by David Cohen.

Schneiderman told AAN News after Cromer’s resignation that he intended to become more personally involved in the management of the two West Coast VVM properties.

“I’m going to spend more time out in Seattle,” Schneiderman said in November after Cromer’s departure. “I’ll be on the West Coast more, working with LA [Weekly] and Seattle Weekly.”

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